Ethnic Restaurant Research Paper

Ethnic Restaurant

The restaurant I went to was Cactus, they serve Mexican cuisine. It is located on Gilbert Street in Iowa city. I have been to this restaurant a few times prior to this assignment. The reason I decided to go to Cactus was because I love Mexican food. Another reason why I went there was because when I asked upper classman of a good Mexican restaurant in Iowa City, they all recommended Cactus. The first thing I noticed when walking into Cactus was the decorations. The decorations of restaurant gave a definite Hispanic feel. The walls were bright yellow, orange, and red; vibrant colors are very common in the Hispanic culture. The walls were heavily decorated with thick colorful woven Mexican blankets. There were also sombreros

Most items were served with refried beans and rice. Beans and rice are very common in everyday meals in Spanish cultures because they are fairly cheap and readily available. The rice that was served at Cactus was not a typical white rice most people are used to eating, it was Spanish rice. Spanish rice has a light tomato sauce and several different spices in it. Another thing that was included in many of the entrées were pico de gallo, guacamole, and sour cream. Pico de gallo is a fresh salsa, made with tomatoes, onions, peppers, and a few herbs. The guacamole and sour cream are served on the side as a cooling agent. Mexican dishes are typically spicy, as they have many different types of peppers in them, so a cooling agent is typically served on the side. Another very common ingredient found in several of the entrées was tortillas. Prior to my meal being served, our waiter brought us a bowl of freshly made tortilla chips and salsa. There were two different types of salsa served, a mild and a hot. As I mentioned earlier, Mexican dishes tend to have a lot of different peppers and spices in them, so the mild salsa is served for those whom are not accustom to the spicy peppers. When my meal, Taquitos Mexicanos, arrived at my table it contained the very common ingredients I had mentioned above. The Taquitos Mexicanos was three deep fried corn tortillas filled with chicken, topped with lettuce, pico de gallo, and

It should be noted I have never been to Mexico. Similar to how Lisa Heldek has never been to Thailand, but yet she can express how ethnic the Thailand restaurant is in Ireland. Heldek does this by comparing what she sees in Ireland to what she has seen in America, thus whatever is different from each place, is a possible change that each country or each restaurant has made to the particular cuisine. I found this very helpful when I analyzed Cactus to other Mexican restaurants I have been